Anytime Cate Shortland (Somersault, Lore) has a new film on the way it's worth being excited about, but with Teresa Palmer (Cut Bank) now set for the lead role there's even more reason. Palmer has agreed to star in Berlin Syndrome, alongside German actor Max Riemelt. Penned by Shaun Grant (Snowtown) and adapted from the book by Melanie Joosten, the film centers on an Australian photojournalist (Palmer, naturally) who has a night of passion with a charismatic man she just met, only to wake and discover that he's locked her in his apartment with no intention of letting her leave. Expect to see this one some time next year. Shortland has pulled great performances from the likes of Abbie Cornish, Sam Worthington, and Saskia Rosendahl; and there's every reason to think she can do the same with Palmer.
Chekhov's 19th-century play The Seagull was largely reviled when it first opened, but is now considered one of his most defining works. It has been adapted for the stage numerous times but only once as a film by Sidney Lumet in 1968. Now a new version is on the way with Saoirse Ronan, Annette Bening, Corey Stoll, and newcomer Billy Howe the first to be cast. The film will be directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer, whose film credits include the Colin Farrell drama A Home at the End of the World, and has a script by Stephen Karam, who was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. The story follows the artistic and romantic conflicts between four characters: famous writer Boris Trigorin, the ingenue Nina, the fading actress Irina Arkadina, and her playwright son Konstantin Tréplev. Filming begins this summer. [Variety]
